On June 11, 2020, Fix Our Schools sent the following to the Ministry of Education, in response to their request for public input to Ontario’s plan to reopen schools.

Fix Our Schools is pleased to provide the following input to the Ministry of Education, and respectfully asks that the provincial government:

1.Prioritize publicly funded education and a safe, effective re-opening of schools in September as an integral component of re-opening our economy

Despite the fact that restarting schools is an essential driver for Ontario’s economy, the general public is hearing very little about what the provincial government and school boards are doing towards planning for September. At the same time, we are hearing quite a lot about golf courses, restaurants, hair salons, and other businesses. Students, families, communities, and our economy would all greatly benefit from a clear prioritization of publicly funded education and schools by your government.

In fact, in the June 5 edition of a Public Health Ontario document providing a collation of COVID-19 resources (https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/documents/ncov/ncov-daily-lit.pdf?la=en), we were disappointed to see that schools were not even allocated their own line item. Furthermore, almost all the resources cited under the heading “Schools, Childcare & Businesses” were pertaining to businesses – not schools or childcares. 

2. Commit to providing the necessary funding for school boards to be able to reasonably plan and implement a safe, effective re-opening of schools in September.

Local school boards, with guidance from local public health officials, will ultimately be charged with re-opening Ontario’s schools for September. They need to start planning as soon as possible, and they need the certainty of adequate provincial funding – something that has been lacking for decades.

However, the COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated that, with political will, previously unimaginable public resources can be found and allocated. Now is the time for this same level of political will to be applied to our publicly funded schools and education system. Ontario’s 2-million students need to know that the adults in charge are committed to their education, their mental health, and their development. Our economy also demands a prioritization of public education and schools.

In this time of uncertainty, flexibility of provincial funding is also key. As new information is integrated into plans for school re-openings, the province must be committed to providing the necessary resources, and respond quickly to funding needs in the education system as this situation unfolds.

3. Work with local school boards and public health officials to provide weekly updates to the public on the school re-opening planning/implementation process.

“Bonnie Henry believes that if you tell people what you are doing and why – if you provide transparent decision-making with real reasons behind it – people will follow. Of course, you have to make the right decisions, too.” (https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2020/06/05/i-felt-the-weight-of-the-world-says-bc-health-officer-bonnie-henry-but-she-got-everything-right.html)

Effective, timely communication is paramount. Transparent and regular communication to the public about plans and possible models for publicly funded education and schools in September must start as soon as possible, and ought to be weekly at a set time and day. This approach will convey that publicly funded education and schools are, in fact, the priority that they must be in order for our economy to re-open.

4.Develop a commonly understood definition of “safe, effective return to school”.

School boards, public health officials, parents, students, teachers, principals, and education workers are all key stakeholders in the re-opening of schools. These key stakeholders must engage in regular dialogue to develop a common, shared understanding of what constitutes a “safe, effective return to school”. This common understanding will help build public confidence in school safety.

Thanks for the opportunity to provide input to such a critical step in moving forward in Ontario.